NYCOM 'Crowdsourcing' upcoming seminars on creative placemaking

I can see two tracks for this:

1. Public-sector lead with support by the private sector:  Establishing a progressive, visionary, creative group of individuals organized as a community focused on the implementation of a common vision they co-create.

2. Private-sector lead with support by the public sector:  Working with a building owner that is willing to work with a subset of the aforementioned community of progressives to 'crowdsource' what that building should be, and providing the buyers/tenants/patrons to ensure its commercial success.

Question:  What is the existing demographic of the village, and the target demographic of the proposed commercial center?

Here is some demographic information about the Village of Croton-on-Hudson.  You can see it is a small village.  It is also located on the east bank of the Hudson River which means that there is a significant area from which no people can be drawn for commercial purposes.

dc The village comprises just under 5 square land miles and almost 6 square miles of water. While the village's water resources add value and enjoyment, the taxable properties are land-based sites.

The village had 7,606 residents in 2000, with a projected increase to 7,785 to 7,84 in 2010 and 8,429 to 8,881 in 2020. 

At present Croton has a higher percentage (37%) of adults aged 35-54 than the county as a whole.

As this group will ages in place, the pressure for suitable housing will mount.

Median income is rising more sharply in Croton than in the surrounding towns.

We can expect the number of households without children to grow, either among those who have no yet begun families or those who are empty nesters.

The number of housing units in Croton has not kept pace with surrounding towns, even though rents (and home prices grew steeply up through 2004.

Sources: Westchester County Department of Planning Databook 2005 (www.westchestergov.com/planning); US Census Bureau (census.gov)

Thanks Ann,

What subset of this demographic do you see most interested in the downtown second floor housing?

Do you think there's a potential market for this project as it relates to the content in the Crowdsourcing Cool Places for Creatives document?

The Economic Development committee believes that one-bedroom apartments would be very attractive to young professional singles and couples because it is walkable to the commuter train station, walkable to grocery shopping and is near the Hudson River waterfront recreational opportunities.  We have recently engaged a consultant to review and comment on the work the committee has done so far regarding zoning recommendations and achieving the parking requirements.  Ann

A summary of the Croton redevelopment opportunity:

It has two or three commercial areas that are not walkable to one another, but one site has a shuttered automobile dealership (1/2 acre + 2 acres), within a redevelopment 12-acre site in the Harmon District.  A row of buildings across the street (South Riverside) have ground-floor retail below two additional floors of housing (with variances), and so the City is looking to match that with the same variance (35 feet height maximum). A commuter rail station (Croton-Harmon Metro North/Amtrak, 40 minutes from NYC on the express train) is within walking distance, and a supermarket.  The target demographic for the urban village is young professionals commuting from New York City.

A vibrant neighborhood is one of the most desired goal of the community at large. Model examples include those in Mount Kisco, Cold Spring, Pleasantville.

Attending the NYCOM conference on April 24, 2008 will be Janine King, assistant to the Village Manager of Croton and Richard Herbek, retired Village Manager.

Neil:

You asked about demographics of the existing area and for development we would seek to attract. The figures below are for the entire Zip Code of Croton-on-Hudson which is larger than the census tract or political boundaries of the Village. The Harmon district is the business zone closest to the village's large commuter train/bus transit hub at Croton-Harmon Station (Metro North, Amtrak service). So that is a major asset in attracting residents and potential businesses.

We are commissioning a retail feasibility study to learn more about existing demographics and those for what new retail space might attract.

Demographics 10520 zip code (10/2007):
12,995      Total Population (again zip code is 49% larger than village proper, but does represent a coherent cluster of neighborhoods that belong to same school district, use same commuter hubs, etc.)
2,738        Total Employees (Daytime Population)
$128,902    Average Household Income
$91,239     Median Household Income

Here are a few more demographic facts about Croton from the County Census 2000 Research books and the 204 Data Book.
-Average 1 bedroom apartment rent in Croton is $1,115;  and 2 bedroom average rent is $1,540. (2004 data; rents are probably higher now; this is about $100 higher than same apts in Ossining).

-Total number rental units in Croton: 674  (compared with 3,900 in neighboring Ossining).

-Average Vacancy Rate in Croton is 2% for home and rentals (2004 data: Ossining rate is 3%, Buchanan 11%, no communities have lower vacancy rates than 2% in the County).

-Actual 2006 Area Median Income (AMI) for Westchester County is $96,500. (AMI is slightly lower for 2007.)

"By definition, a household earning 80% of an area’s median income is considered “low income"....”(County Planning Dept).

Therefore some housing development funds are available to create housing that will target folks who earn 80% of the AMI. That means a 2 person household with $77,000 annual income might qualify for affordable housing. Folks whose professions are commonly in this income range include: personnel manager, municipal engineer, teachers, police officers, health care workers.

Projected Village of Croton Population for 2030 is 9,500, a 20% increase over current pop of c. 8,000.

-Leo Wiegman